Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Mickey D's and You

On any given day, 7%, that's SEVEN PERCENT, of the ENTIRE AMERICAN POPULATION, will eat at McDonald's. This absolutely staggers me.

In fact, this whole article from the current month's Harvard Magazine staggers me. It's one of the best articles I've read on nutrition and health since... well, since last month's issue of Harvard Magazine.

Two especially good tidbits for all you conspiracy theorists out there:

-- Notice how the base of the Food Guide Pyramid is grains. It makes no distinction between whole grains and refined (garbage) grains, it's just... grains. The Pyramid recommends a staggering six to eleven servings of grain a day. The Pyramid also makes no distinction between "legumes," "nuts," and all meat; recommending that you eat two to three servings a day from this "group." Further, it recommends two to three (!!) servings a day of dairy. So who writes and distributes the Food Guide Pyramid? The National Institute of Health? The Department of Health and Human Services? The Food and Drug Administration? Nah. It's the DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Guess whose lobbying drives the Department of Agriculture? (Hint: what moos while munching amber waves of grain?)

-- Half, that's HALF, of the net income of farmers in this country comes from Uncle Sam in the form of price supports and land set-asides. But not all farmers are treated equally. Ever notice how cheap grain products like wheat and corn (from whence come refined white flour and high fructose corn syrup) are, and how expensive fruit and vegetables are by comparison? Is this the market at work? Yes--but the *political* market, not Adam Smith's. Subsidies are for grains. Vegetable, fruit, bean and nut farmers do not get subsidies. Says Harvard medical school professor David Ludwig, "The foods that are the worst for us have an artificially low price, and the best foods cost more. This is worse than a free market: we are creating a mirror-world here."

Saturday, May 15, 2004

The Latest Stats

I have continued on the South Beach Diet, on a sort of Phase 2-and-a-half. That is, I eat according to the Phase II rules, but occasionally I indulge in a sweet treat (like last night, I had some dark chocolate covered marzipan for my birthday), and I don't sweat a little white flour now and again in (very) small doses. I'm posting my stats again, as I used to do once a week, just to keep you abreast of how I'm doing. I continue to lose, slooooooooowly.

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Weight/Measurements:

Weight: 124.5 pounds
Bodyfat: 25%
Waist, holding in stomach like I normally do: 27 inches
Waist, letting it all hang out: 28
Waist around my belly button, holding in stomach like I normally do: 30
Waist around my belly button, letting it all hang out: 31
Hips: 36
Chest: 30
Bust: 36
Thighs: R21, L20

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Weight: 134 -- 131 -- 129 -- 130 -- 127.5 -- 127 -- 125.5 -- 125.5 -- 125.5 -- 125 -- 124.5

Bodyfat: 29% -- 29% -- 27% -- 28% -- 27.5% -- 26% -- 24.5% -- 22.5% -- 27% -- 26% -- 25%

Waist, sucking in: 28.5 -- 28.5 -- 28.5 -- 28 -- 27.5 -- 27.5 -- 27.5 -- 27.5 -- 27.5 -- 27.5 -- 27

Waist, hanging out: 30 -- 29.5 -- 29 -- 29 -- 28.5 -- 28.5 -- 28 -- 28 -- 28 -- 28 -- 28

Belly, sucking in: 32 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31 -- 30 -- 30.5 -- 30 -- 30

Belly, hanging out : 34 -- 33.5 -- 33 -- 33.5 -- 32.5 -- 32 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31

Hips: 38 -- 37 -- 37 -- 37 -- 37 -- 37 -- 37 -- 36.5 -- 36 -- 36 -- 36

Chest: 32 -- 31 -- 31 -- 31 -- 30.5 -- 30 -- 30 -- 30 -- 30 -- 30 -- 30

Bust: 38.5 -- 38 -- 37 -- 37 -- 37 -- 36.5 -- 36.5 -- 36 -- 36 -- 36 -- 36

Thighs: R22/L21 -- R22/L21 -- R21.5/L21 -- R22/L21 -- R21.5/L21 -- R21.5/L20.5 -- R21.5/L20.5 -- R21.5/L20.5 -- R20.5/L20 -- R21/L20 -- R21/L20


In the last week, I haven't invented any new dishes other than the one I posted. Chili remains a staple, and I lovethe veganoutreach site. Look under the Vegan Starter Pack box, and you will find links to lots and lots of great, simple vegan recipes. The Mediterranean Chickpeas is incredibly easy, and incredibly delicious, with or without rice served with it.

I also recently rediscovered Kittee's site, which is a fun read. I especially like her review of vegan cookzines, which you can order. I've ordered several. I won't say that I use them a lot to cook with, but they are entertaining and motivating reading.

Monday, May 10, 2004

UPDATE

Hello to all who read this,

As you can see, I've gotten pretty lazy about posting. Putting my menu online (and in my excel spreadsheet) every day has just gotten old, frankly. I'm down to 124 pounds, and I continue to lose, but at a slower pace because I'm simply eating close to maintenance. For me, maintenance calories seem to be about 1850 a day, and I'm eating about 1600. That translates to a half a pound of fat loss a week.

I look pretty good at this weight, and though I know I will look even better at 120, I'm just not motivated to get there full-steam ahead. I will get there eventually--at this pace, in about two months--and I've decided I'm just not going to worry about it.

I'm still doing the South Beach Diet, but definitely as Phase II (meaning I eat whole grains and fruits), and I don't worry about the occasional potato, white pasta, or even sweet treat. Just so long as, on average, I'm eating below maintenance in any given week, I'm happy.

So I will check back in and report my progress from time to time, and post a vegan recipe or two that I might come up with.

In that spirit, I bring you:


Gnocchi with Bitter Greens (loose Phase II, or Phase III appropriate)

1 pound potato gnocchi
1 bunch broccoli rabe/rapini (or your fave bitter green; kale or collards would do nicely)
1 leek
1 pound brussels sprouts
2 T fry-appropriate oil (like canola, grapeseed, or refined avocado)
1 t crushed red pepper flakes (or more, to taste)
1/4 c lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Boil a big, heavy-bottomed pot of water. While it is heating, prepare the various greens: rinse and trim the thickest ends off of the broccoli rabe; rinse the brussels sprouts, cut off the ends and cut an "x" in the bottom of the stems; rinse and thinly slice the leek. The water should be boiling now; dump in the brussels sprouts and cook for 8 minutes. While it is boiling, put a heavy pan on medium heat with 1 T of the oil, and begin sauteeing the leeks. When the brussels sprouts are done, fish them out with a slotted spoon and put them aside. Dump the broccoli rabe into the boiling water, and cook for no more than a minute. Fish out the greens into a collander, and set aside to drain. Now dump the gnocchi into the boiling water, and boil until they rise to the surface (about three minutes). While they are cooking, dump the broccoli rabe into the pan with the leek, and continue sauteeing. Now drain the gnocchi and the water from the pot. Put the pot back on the burner, on medium heat, toss in the other T of oil, the drained gnocchi, and the drained brussels spouts. Sautee for a minute or three, then toss in the red pepper flakes, and the sauteed leeks and broccoli rabe. Add the lemon juice, stir it up well, and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Thursday, May 06, 2004

Phase 1.2, Day 6

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Breakfast: V-8 with flax seed meal

Midmorning snack: hot coffee with silk creamer and splenda

Lunch: spinach and chickpeas; curried tofu; dal; eggplant curry; one onion pakora; iced tea [Indian restaurant meal]

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Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Phase 1.2, Day 5

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Breakfast: V-8 with flax seed meal; a few pecan halves

Lunch: curried chickpeas and bell pepper salad; felafel on whole grain bread with tomato and baby spinach [I somehow totally forgot I was on Phase I again until I started eating it, I swear!]; diet Snapple lemon iced tea [from Food Court]

Midafternoon snack: green ginger tea

Dinner: large salad with garbanzos, tofu, various vegetables; chinese cabbage cooked with soy sauce; diet Coke

Dessert: lots of Israeli almond-coconut chocolates :(

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Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Phase 1.2, Day 4

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Breakfast: Boca burger with salsa

Lunch: broccoli and tomato salad; large bowl of tomato-vegetable soup; diet raspberry Snapple iced tea [from Food Court]

Midafternoon snack: hot coffee with silk; 1/4 c walnuts

Dinner: tofu stir fry with broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, summer squash, snow peas, and cashews; diet Snapple lime green tea [from Food Court]

Late night snack: spring greens salad with cashews, garbanzo beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, olives, and oil and vinegar dressing [from Food Court]

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My site meter on this blog allows me to see the "referral page" for visitors to this site. I can't tell who has visited (though I can tell their internet service provider), but I can tell where they came from! I discovered this fairly recently, and have become entranced by it.

Most of the referrals are unsurprising; they usually come from my postings on the Microsoft South Beach Diet Group Board. But what's really fun is the search engine referrals. Again, most of these are pretty ordinary: people looking for "vegan" and "south beach diet" turns up my site, naturally. Or, people will be looking to see if a particular food item is allowed on this diet. So, they might look for "South Beach" and "beer" or "papadum" or "coffee."

But some of the searches are so delightfully random! One guy (I assume it was a guy) was looking for Michelle Rodriguez's bra cup size, and the poor fella found me instead. Another person wanted to learn how to reduce methodone-induced food cravings, and wound up here. Yet another was looking up something about marsupials.

I can safely laugh at these people behind their backs because I can't imagine the poor, misled souls will actually be back! But just in case the methodone user happened to stick around--congratulations on kicking a terrible habit! And I expect you'll find the South Beach Diet makes you feel better in the long run than heroin did... though to be frank the heroin probably worked better for weight-loss.

Monday, May 03, 2004

Phase 1.2, Day 3

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Breakfast: hot coffee with silk creamer; 2 oz walnuts

Midmorning snack: hot coffee with silk creamer

Lunch: mystery beans salad; asparagus; green beans with shallots; sauteed mushrooms; diet Snapple raspberry iced tea [from Food Court]

Midafternoon snack: hummus with raw vegetables (radish, carrot, red bell pepper, cauliflower); olives

Dinner: tofu stir fry with zucchini, broccoli, summer squash, snow peas and mushrooms [from Food Court]

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Sunday, May 02, 2004

Phase 1.2, Day 2

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Breakfast: leftover Mediterranean chickpeas; diet Dr. Pepper

Midmorning snack: hot coffee with half-n-half

Lunch: mesclun salad with tomatoes, cucumber, celery, red bell pepper, walnuts and hemp oil/balsamic vinegar dressing; mug of green tea

Midafternoon snack: V-8 with calcium, with a T of flax seed meal stirred in. Not as goopy or disgusting as feared, since the V-8 is already pretty thick. I think I've found a new way to incorporate more flax seed into my diet!

Another snack: the rest of the toasted yellow-eyed beans, which did NOT age well

Dinner: Malaysian restaurant meal, including peanut and bean sprout salad, stuffed fried tofu, sauteed spinach, and a tofu-vegetable stir-fry.

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I went to a road race with my boyfriend this morning (he won second place! Yay!) and I turned down not only the usual bagels and oranges, but tons of muffins, and *free Ben and Jerry's ice cream.* I think I should have been given a trophy just for that.

Then, for dinner, I turned down dessert at Cold Slab Creamery. *And* a proffered bite of green tea ice cream at the restaurant, which I love. Satan was definitely trying to tempt me today!

Saturday, May 01, 2004

Phase 1.2, Day 1

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Weight/Measurements:

Weight: 125 pounds
Bodyfat: 26%
Waist, holding in stomach like I normally do: 27.5 inches
Waist, letting it all hang out: 28
Waist around my belly button, holding in stomach like I normally do: 30
Waist around my belly button, letting it all hang out: 31.5
Hips: 36
Chest: 30
Bust: 36
Thighs: R21, L20

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Weight: 134 -- 131 -- 129 -- 130 -- 127.5 -- 127 -- 125.5 -- 125.5 -- 125.5 -- 125

Bodyfat: 29% -- 29% -- 27% -- 28% -- 27.5% -- 26% -- 24.5% -- 22.5% -- 27% -- 26%

Waist, sucking in: 28.5 -- 28.5 -- 28.5 -- 28 -- 27.5 -- 27.5 -- 27.5 -- 27.5 -- 27.5 -- 27.5

Waist, hanging out: 30 -- 29.5 -- 29 -- 29 -- 28.5 -- 28.5 -- 28 -- 28 -- 28 -- 28

Belly, sucking in: 32 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31 -- 30 -- 30.5 -- 30

Belly, hanging out : 34 -- 33.5 -- 33 -- 33.5 -- 32.5 -- 32 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31.5 -- 31.5

Hips: 38 -- 37 -- 37 -- 37 -- 37 -- 37 -- 37 -- 36.5 -- 36 -- 36

Chest: 32 -- 31 -- 31 -- 31 -- 30.5 -- 30 -- 30 -- 30 -- 30 -- 30

Bust: 38.5 -- 38 -- 37 -- 37 -- 37 -- 36.5 -- 36.5 -- 36 -- 36 -- 36

Thighs: R22/L21 -- R22/L21 -- R21.5/L21 -- R22/L21 -- R21.5/L21 -- R21.5/L20.5 -- R21.5/L20.5 -- R21.5/L20.5 -- R20.5/L20 -- R21/L20


Ten weeks, nine pounds. All things considered, that really isn't bad. But now I'm starting afresh; on May Day. A beautiful, springy day; full of promise!


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Breakfast: glass of V-8 (they now make a version fortified with calcium!); 1/8 c pistachios; mug of green tea

Lunch: mesclun salad with tomatoes, cucumber, celery, red bell pepper, walnuts and hemp oil/balsamic vinegar dressing; diet Dr. Pepper

Midafternoon snack: failed toated yellow-eyed beans (actually, they were tasty but kind of fell apart so aren't really a good finger-snack-food, so I won't bother posting the recipe); diet Dr. Pepper

Dinner: Mediterranean chickpeas again (man, these are good!!)

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It's amazing how much easier it is to eat fewer calories when on Phase I. I easily hit just under 1200 calories; something I haven't managed for several weeks on Phase II.

Days 53-55, Phase 2

Well, I won't say I went berserk and ate everything in sight, but I did take a vacation from the diet. I ate mostly SBD food, but with the addition of healthy numbers of cookies (Day 53), and things like white breads and mashed potatoes and the like for various formal end-of-year events I went to (Days 54 and 55).

And frankly, this gives me the opportunity for a complete, clean break. I've been eating at maintenance levels for a couple of weeks now. I have about five pounds left to go; I lost five pounds on Phase I of this diet. And when I was on Phase I, I really adapted to smaller portion sizes without hunger; I want to see if I can get back to those smaller portion sizes.

That's right, ladies and germs: I'm going back to Phase I! Clean slate. I'm going to weigh and measure, and start my calorie counting over from zero, with the new assumption (based on my lower weight) that I can now eat 1850 calories a day to maintain.

I feel skinnier already!